It was a sad day when we heard that Dennis Had, founder and guiding light of Cary Audio, was retiring. Under his leadership, business acumen and engineering genius, Cary Audio became one of the most successful producers of audio equipment. Several Cary Audio products, both tube and solid state, have been reviewed here on 10 Audio, and this writer purchased many of the review samples.

Prism Sound is well known in the pro audio space where their analog to digital converters (ADCs) are used in many of the best recording studios worldwide. The Prism Orpheus ADC/DAC was reviewed here in 2009. The Prism Callia USB DAC Preamplifier is a new product aimed primarily at the home or non-professional market.

The ZYX UNIverse Premium moving coil phono cartridge is the latest evolution in the long history of ZYX of Japan. High performance is always expensive, and in this case, sonic perfection carries a “premium” price tag. Based on other upper high end cartridges that I have heard, the UNIverse Premium is worth it because it meets or exceeds every expectation I ever imagined for the sonic potential of the vinyl LP.